The Giants trade up for wide receiver Ramses Barden of Cal Poly in the third round Sunday.

The Giants finally made their trade for a big receiver. It just wasn't for the one everyone was expecting.

They passed on the chance to overpay for Cleveland's Braylon Edwards this weekend, and instead filled their biggest need with a smaller deal. They moved up six spots in the third round of the NFL draft to select Ramses Barden, a 6-6, 229-pounder out of Division I-AA Cal Poly.

Barden was the tallest - and most Plaxico Burress-like - receiver available.

"He's got a lot to learn, but he has a huge, huge upside," Giants GM Jerry Reese said. "We think he can come in and contribute right away as a threat down in the red zone. He's one of those guys that if you get a little corner, he's a real matchup problem. You can just throw it out there and we think he can come down with it."

Barden did that more often than not in college, where Reese said "he stood out like a sore thumb" against inferior competition. Despite a lack of game-breaking speed, he caught 67 passes for 1,257 yards as a senior, and had 57 catches for 1,467 yards as a junior. He also had 18 touchdowns in each of those years.

Best of all, the price was right. The move for Barden cost the Giants their own third-round pick (91st overall) and one of their two fifth-rounders (164th), which they sent to the Philadelphia Eagles. It was a small price to pay, considering the asking price for Edwards was reportedly a first- and a third-round selection - picks the Giants used on two receivers, Barden and North Carolina's Hakeem Nicks.

Nicks and Barden, though, will be front and center as the Giants try to replace Burress and Amani Toomer, their two starting receivers from last year. And Barden's development could be key to their success, since he's the Giants' only receiver taller than 6-1.

"When it came to the (red) zone it was very obvious to anybody watching the significance of a bigger receiver working against a smaller opponent in that area of the field," Tom Coughlin said. "People did not think they could contest with his physical ability, so they got back off of him."

"I think my size will give me an advantage in getting off the line of scrimmage and competing for the ball," Barden added. "And with this game being physical (it'll help) when the ball is in the air, enabling me to make plays."

He should get plenty of opportunities to make plays for the Giants this season, especially since there appears to be almost no chance the Giants will add Edwards or any other veteran receiver.